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Public Relations amidst COVID-19: Top 10 female practitioners for year 2020
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Every year Women in PR Ghana, a networking platform aimed at mentoring the next generation of young Public Relations and communications professionals releases a list of female practitioners valuable contributions towards the growth of their organisations or private enterprises.
In spite of the disruptions caused by COVID-19, some practitioners still defied the odds to make a mark in their respective organisations. The top 10 outstanding women in 2020 were named recently and, as expected, some popular names popped up again.
According to Women in PR, the list was compiled based on how the women tackled COVID-19, through “internal and external communications”, and how they used the period to “impact the vulnerable” in society.”
Here is a summary of their achievements and impact, as published by Women in PR Ghana.
Ms Esther Cobbah (CEO, Stratcomm Africa)
The award- winning practitioner and advocate of green environment was listed for using her social media platforms to host live conversations on ‘Green Living’ and offer useful tips to her followers on how to start, grow and maintain simple green plots/gardens at home.
Her organisation, Stratcomm Africa, supported the national communications efforts by rolling out series of communication campaigns such as “Koo the COVID Prefect” in the ‘Fante’ dialect to educate the public on COVID-19.
The 8th edition of her annual Ghana Garden and Flower Show which usually took place as a physical event was hosted virtually due to restrictions on physical activities.
Ms Shirley Tony Kum (Corporate Communications Manager, Vivo Energy)
Throughout year 2020, Shirley is said to have led and driven several sustainable and impactful projects within her industry.
Her organisation, Vivo Energy (Shell) launched an initiative dubbed ‘Retailer Sustainability Programme’ to complement government’s efforts in combating COVID-19.
The programme led the organisation to roll out a number of interventions for their staff and local communities.
She led her team to win some awards including Excellence Award in Corporate Social Responsibility (Downstream) at the Ghana Oil and Gas Awards.
She was adjudged the ‘Unsung Hero’ for her outstanding contribution to the Oil and Gas Industry under the Vivo Energy brand and also won the ‘Corporate Lady of the Year ‘ at the 2020 Women’s Choice Awards Africa.
Ms Cynthia Eyram Ofori-Dwumfuo (Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Hollard Ghana)
During the COVID-19, she led her team at Hollard Ghana to develop a communication strategy through the use of affection emojis (a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion) on branded bus stop shelters.
The emojis were the team’s way of communicating love and care to the many individuals affected by the pandemic.
In October 2020, Cynthia led her team to pay the road tolls of over 20,000 motorists as a gesture of appreciation and care, as part of the company’s customer service week celebration and she led her organisation to make donations to relevant institutions.
Ms Cassandra Twum Ampofo (Head of Public Relations Unit, Ghana Education Service)
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of schools and presented some hard times to her institution, however, Cassandra was prepared to provide adequate information on every issue raised with resilience and tenacity.
She is credited for improving brand visibility of the Ghana Education Service (GES both online and in mainstream media.
GES partnered the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation to introduce the Ghana Learning TV — a free-to-air channel to bridge the learning gap during the lockdown and closure of schools.
In September 2020, she won the Communications Personality of the Year at the National Communications Awards.
Ms Sophia Lissah (Group Head, Communications, Jospong Group of Companies)
Ms. Sophia’s organisation had made a number of logistic and financial contribution towards the fight against COVID-19, such as cash donations to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) to promote research on COVID-19, and had also led nationwide disinfection of schools, markets, and other public places.
Ms Praise Nutakor (Head of UNDP Ghana’s Communications Unit)
In 2020, she led her organisation on a number of campaigns and interventions such as the ‘For Better Business Together’ programme, ‘Youth Impact Series’, ‘COVID-19 Intervention Challenge’, ‘Digital Transformation and Financial Inclusion’, ‘Ballots without Bullets’, among others.
Nana Efua Rockson (Head, Communications & Public Relations of the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration, UNESCO Category II Centre)
Until her current role with UNESCO, she was the Group Head, Corporate Affairs & Marketing of GLICO GROUP Limited. During the pandemic, her organisation donated some essential items to the Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana Air Force among others.
In the course of the year, she was awarded at the Ghana Insurance Awards 2020 for her contribution to the Insurance industry in sustaining a vibrant brand at GLICO while serving on various committees to create insurance awareness.
Ms Josephine Appiah Nyamekye (Afrobarometer Communications Coordinator for Anglophone West Africa CDD-Ghana
COVID-19 presented an opportunity for her team to explore innovative strategies to help strengthen CDD-Ghana and Afrobarometer’s partnerships with its stakeholders.
She had been instrumental in helping CDD-Ghana and Afrobarometer feed into national and international discourse and policy discussions on COVID-19.
In 2020, Ms Josephine (co)authored about a dozen research papers and blogposts some of which were featured on platforms such as the Washington Post and Brookings Institution.
She was instrumental in leading the Communication’s Team of Coalition of Domestic Elections Observers (CODEO) to provide information about the electoral environment.
Ms Georgina Asare Fiagbenu (Senior Manager for Corporate Communications – MTN Ghana)
During the pandemic, her organisation’s foundation (MTN Foundation) distributed Personal Protective Equipment to support the fight against COVID-19 across various health facilities in the 16 regions.
Ms Silvia Owusu- Ankomah (Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC)
Sylvia and the Guinness Ghana team, having recognised the dire impact of COVID-19, took steps to roll out a loyalty initiative dubbed ‘Rise Up’ where they invested significant funds to support their trade partners and customers to get back to business.
Sylvia and her team introduced ‘Link Up’ – a promotion which offered consumers sufficient mobile phone airtime whenever they purchased the companies range of products.
She again led her team to unveil Guinness Ghana’s new corporate identity with a refreshed and redesigned logo as part of activities to celebrate the brand’s 60 years of impact in Ghana.
By Spectator Reporter
African leaders have been urged to strengthen political commitment and domestic investment to end preventable maternal deaths and AIDS by 2030.
The call comes as African health ministers and policymakers meet in Accra to deliberate on health financing, health security and universal health coverage across the continent.
Mr Edouard Bizimana, Burundi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Development Cooperation, made the call on Tuesday at the opening of the African Union’s (AU) 25th Extraordinary Summit on Health in Accra.
He said Africa needed increased domestic investment to build resilient health systems as it continued to grapple with infectious diseases and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Mr Bizimana, who is also Chairperson of the AU Executive Council, said although Africa accounted for nearly 17 per cent of the world’s population, it bore 24 per cent of the global disease burden while having less than three per cent of the global health workforce and only one per cent of global health expenditure.
“Despite maternal mortality declining by nearly 40 per cent since 2000, Africa still accounts for about 70 per cent of maternal deaths globally, while almost two-thirds of people living with HIV reside on the continent,” he said.
Mr Bizimana said the growing burden of NCDs was placing additional pressure on already stretched health systems.
“These figures are not merely statistics. They represent painful human realities, preventable losses and unacceptable inequalities, they remind us that health is not an expense it is a strategic investment and a prerequisite for our sovereignty and development. “he said.
Mr Bizimana said recent global health emergencies had exposed Africa’s vulnerability and underscored the need to expand local production of medicines and vaccines, strengthen the health workforce and improve emergency preparedness.
“Our citizens expect resilient health systems where every mother can give birth safely, every child has access to essential healthcare and every African enjoys quality health services regardless of where they live,” he said.
The two-day summit, being held ahead of the 20th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, has brought together health ministers, policymakers and health stakeholders to identify solutions to Africa’s health financing and security challenges.
Madam Florence Samizi, Tanzania’s Deputy Health Minister, called for stronger collaboration among AU Member States to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage.
The summit is being held on the theme: “Advancing Justice, Equality and Universal Health Coverage: Ending AIDS, Tuberculosis, Improving Maternal Health, Addressing Endemic Non-Communicable and Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa.”
The meeting is expected to adopt the Accra Declaration, a roadmap to strengthen Africa’s health systems and advance health sovereignty by 2030. -GNA
Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Department of Political Science, Dr. Joshua Jebuntie Zaato says the imprisonment of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, will have little meaning unless it leads to a broader crackdown on illegal mining.
In a post on his Facebook page on the July 21, 2026, Dr. Zaato said the judgment should mark the beginning of efforts to completely eradicate galamsey and hold all those involved accountable, regardless of their political affiliation.
He said the country must work towards restoring polluted rivers, protecting forests and ensuring that people implicated in illegal mining activities are prosecuted.
According to him, those the President has publicly acknowledged to be involved in galamsey should face prosecution.
He called for the prosecution of district chief executives (DCEs), members of Parliament (MPs) and senior political party officials who have been accused of engaging in or supporting illegal mining.
Dr. Zaato further urged the government to take decisive action to end the destruction of the country’s forests caused by galamsey.
He maintained that the imprisonment of Chairman Wontumi would only have a lasting impact if it results in a comprehensive and impartial fight against illegal mining across the country.
By: Jacob Aggrey
